THN Penguins Predictions: Which player will have a breakout season?

With a new season just around the corner, the Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up for yet another training camp.

But this time around – unlike in seasons past – 2024-25 could be full of surprises.

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As such, we will break down some storylines to expect this season and provide you with some bold – and some not-so-bold – predictions for the 2024-25 campaign.

Next up: Which Penguins’ player will break out in a big way this season?

Kelsey’s Prediction

I’m going to break format here a bit because I think there are two kinds of breakout players: young players who are bound to break out at the NHL level for the first time, and players new to an organization – via trade or free agency – who didn’t quite meet their potential in a new system during their first season with a team but have had success in the past.

As for the former, I think the obvious choice here is Rutger McGroarty. “Youth” hasn’t exactly been a thing on the Penguins for quite some time. They’ve had guys like Drew O’Connor and Valtteri Puustinen, who – while relatively young at 26 and 25 – still have the potential to find another level, but, for the most part, probably mostly are what they already are at this point.

There is a lot of talk about whether or not McGroarty will make the roster out of camp. I think he will. McGroarty wanted guarantees of NHL playing time in Winnipeg, and when there were none, he wanted out. The Penguins traded their top prospect, Brayden Yager – who is likely only a year or two away – in a direct swap for a more NHL-ready piece in McGroarty.

If there was no intention for McGroarty to be part of the NHL roster this season, the trade itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Penguins.

With that said, I expect McGroarty to play on the third line to start the season, likely alongside Kevin Hayes and either Cody Glass or Puustinen. This will help ease his transition and, hopefully, get his skating adjusted up to NHL speed.

But given McGroarty’s skill set and top-six upside, I don’t expect that deployment to last long.

My prediction is that McGroarty is playing alongside Sidney Crosby…